Donald Berton Long was born in June 1921 in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. He is the oldest of the four brothers and two sisters. Being the oldest child, he was not very close to his siblings. Jobs were hard to find during the Great Depression. There were hard times for many. His father moved quite a bit to find employment as a paper stock cutter. By 1931, things had improved as both his parents had work. During his youth, he enjoyed being in an aviation related youth group that built model airplanes. He has fond memories of the year he lived on a farm with his grandparents. Long attended many schools prior to high school but remained at one high school where he graduated in 1939. After graduation, he cut pulp wood with a friend for a short time. He then did a tour in the CC camps [Annotator's Note: Civilian Conservation Corps]. While in the camp, a mentor recommended that he take a correspondence course in radio and television. The training helped him later to reach the rating of radioman in the Navy. That, in turn, led to flight school then pilot certification and a 22 year career in the Navy as an officer. Long is grateful for the mentor who suggested in CC camp that he not waste his time but take the courses in radio and television. That would lead him to the Navy's radio school in Alameda in June 1941. The typing he learned in high school was also of great benefit with the Morse code messages he had to type out while in the Navy. Long worked on the school paper and on his high school yearbook. He enjoyed working with the music teacher and being in the school band that traveled with the sports team. It was a nice social experience.

Donald Long completed his radio training at Alameda and was transferred by ship to Pearl Harbor as part of VP-12 [Annotator's Note: US Navy Patrol Squadron 12 (VP-12)]. VP-12 was a PBY [Annotators Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] squadron stationed at Kaneohe [Annotator's Note: a Naval Air Station a few miles from Pearl Harbor]. Long was at the Hawaiian base on the morning of the attack [Annotator's Note: 7 December 1941]. He had just gone aboard his floating PBY to relieve another sailor husbanding the aircraft when the Japanese attacked a few minutes later. He first thought it to be friendly aircraft performing training exercises. Then his plane was hit by Japanese bullets. Shortly afterward, the aircraft ignited and went up in flames. Long was burned escaping the fire through burning water. He had learned in boot camp how to swim through burning water. The key was not to panic. He does not remember fear but rather concern that the enemy would make another run and get him while he was swimming. He reached a buoy and took refuge and protection there. From that vantage point, he could see the maelstrom taking place. After the action, a boat took him off the buoy. Of the multiple individuals manning the floating PBYs, Long believes that he was the only survivor. For Long, the Sunday morning had started out as any other regular duty day but was changed suddenly. His arms, hands and face burns were not extreme but noticeable for years. He looked terrible when he was picked up from the buoy. He was taken to the Kaneohe hospital and a casualty tag was put on him. His wounds, not being serious, were not prioritized but treated later that morning. He was sent back to duty later that afternoon. The situation was very confused. The sailors were issued rifles and spent the next two nights on the beach in anticipation of an invasion.

Donald Long did not know what to make of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Hawaii. [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack was on 7 December 1941.] The Navy reaction was immediate. Blackout regulations became far more stringent. Some conditions on the United States' West Coast persisted long after the threat of Japanese attack ended. Long attended the 75th anniversary of the attack and found it to be very moving. Long returned to Kaneohe [Annotator's Note: a Naval Air Station a few miles from Pearl Harbor] and to the spot where his aircraft was strafed. There was wreckage of a PBY [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] in 40 feet of water. It could have been his ship. He relived the experience for those he was with. The Royal Hawaiian Hotel was taken over by the Navy in early 1942. Long was there afterward and had his picture taken with Diamondhead in the background. For the 75th recognition, he had another picture taken on the same balcony location. Long met individuals who had lost loved ones at Kaneohe. He ponders why he was spared. The reunion was moving and enjoyable at the same time. [Annotator's Note: Long shows emotion during the recollection of the events.]

Donald Long would have preferred to be in the Coast Guard since a station was near his home. He enlisted in the Navy because of the proximity of its recruiting station in Duluth. The Army was not considered because his father told Long of his hardships while in France [Annotator's Note: during World War 1]. Long knew he would have a place to sleep and hot food to eat while in the Navy. He went to boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois. He joined the Navy in anticipation that the United States would eventually become involved with the ongoing war in Europe. Long wanted to get in early and get established prior to the mobilization rush. It worked out well for him. Economics was also a consideration since jobs were scarce [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was underway]. Long was fortunate to make the move when he did.

Donald Long performed defensive beach guard duty in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack. Shortly afterward, he would again assume flight duties as a radioman aboard a PBY [Annotator's Note: Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat] in and around Hawaii. He was based on Midway Island after the Japanese attack on the facilities there. As a radioman, he had very little visibility of what was going on outside the aircraft. He did see one Japanese aircraft doing the same scouting duty as his plane was performing. No shots were fired. Things on Midway were relaxed and relatively comfortable for Long. He went diving off the beach and even had an encounter with a shark. The fish swam away when Long stood up on a reef. Long was stationed at Midway for four to six weeks and then returned to Hawaii. He then spent time on Fiji, New Hebrides and Samoa. The squadron [Annotator's Note: Patrol Squadron 12 (VP-12)] was then transferred to Henderson Field on Guadalcanal after the big battle in the straits. [Annotator's Note: Long is likely referring to the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, also known as the Third Battle of Savo Island, which took place between 12 and 15 November 1942.]

Donald Long and his squadron [Annotator's Note: Patrol Squadron 12 (VP-12)] were transferred to the group that became known as the Black Cat Squadron. [Annotator's Note: Long's squadron flew out of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal. Multiple US Navy patrol squadrons used the name Black Cat Squadron.] The squadron's main function was night time interdiction of Japanese forces. They carried bombs and torpedoes but mainly strafed the enemy to prevent them from having access to the straits for their attempt to reach Australia. Two admirals were killed during surface battles in those straits. After three months, Long was ordered back to flight school in the United States. He underwent flight training and, being a combat veteran, remained in the states and became a flight instructor. He was there when the war ended.

Donald Long had enough points after the war to be discharged from the Navy, but he and his wife elected for him to continue his military service. He continued to serve until 1962. He was on active duty at the time of the Korean War but was not deployed there. As an officer, he took advantage of the Halloway Program which provided college education for those of his rank who had no advanced institutional education. This was an effort to bring parity between those with Naval Academy diplomas and those who did not possess that training. This was particularly applicable for the "mustangs" who had been enlisted personnel before receiving their commission. Long first received an associate degree from the University of Minnesota. He later graduated with both a bachelor's and master's degree and a full teaching certificate from San Diego State. He used the G.I. Bill at San Diego to accomplish that. He taught high school for about 15 years. After leaving that profession, he ran fishing charter boats out of San Diego for ten years. He retired to Napa after that.

Donald Long feels the combat that his father saw in France during World War 1 and that experienced by his brother on Okinawa had a profound effect on them. The same could be said of those troops who fought in Vietnam. Those impactful experiences have serious implications on a person's future. Long did not have that type of wartime experience. When he talked about the war with his brother, he felt his sibling had a hatred of the Japanese. For Long as an airman, it was a more remote experience without the connotation of hatred. Long feels pleased with his life but is disappointed that men cannot get along together. Wars are still fought with the impact on warriors today being tragic. World War 2 had to be fought or the populace of the United States might be speaking another language. Our country participated in the war and we have benefited as a result. Time is placing those actions more and more in the past except for the immediate descendents of the veterans of the war. The atomic bombs had to be dropped to get the fighting over with. Long might not have survived had the bombs not be deployed. Many more lives would have been lost otherwise. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans is an excellent experience. The Museum is impressive for the way it tells the huge story of the war in segmented and focused pieces.